In the end only kindness matters...
9:19 PM
Today I have a rant post. Yes, you read that correctly. A RANT post. I don't normally venture into the dramatic world of polish drama. There was that whole Lynderella drama awhile back and I kept my mouth shut about it and happily went about my polishing while the polish world went mad around me. There are issues with well known large bloggers and many other scandals in the polish world. And still I remain unbiased, uninvolved and continue polishing on amid the craziness. Why, you ask? Because I polish for the love of polishing. For a long time my blog has remained quite free of drama. I've been lucky enough to have wonderful, supportive followers (that's YOU!) who I love and appreciate and I've been able to have a positive space for my creative outlet even while others have had negativity plastered by anonymous (and not so anonymous) people in the blogging world. Well ladies and gentlemen, today that comes to an end. Blogging is something that I started blissfully unaware of the seedy underbelly that exists in the polish world. It's something that I wish I'd never become a part of. But I LOVE to polish my nails. I LOVE to blog. I LOVE to be able to share this with you and to be a part of your own individual polish journeys as well. So when this blog post went up I couldn't help being appalled. Bloggers for cuticle cleanup? What? I am well aware that in this world of beauty products there is cattiness and jealousy and perfection is very nearly a requirement if you want to be on the top. In fact, while I was in school I was told more than once that in this industry, if you want to succeed you need to be perfect. Encouraged even to get plastic surgery if necessary to make it. And it disgusts me that this standard exists. Not just in polish but in the fashion world as well. I expect this from social media and professional sites and advertising agencies. I do not expect it from my fellow bloggers. Come on guys!? Have you never done an imperfect mani? Have your cuticles never been dry? Have you never missed a spot while cleaning up? And if you've photo shopped out your imperfections, does this make you perfect? I strive for my blog to be a place of positivity for everyone who visits. I work VERY hard to provide posts with information to HELP you become better at polishing. To help you become better at caring for your cuticles. To help YOU become the best you can be. Right along with me! We're all still learning and we should be helping each other up, not pushing each other down! So right now I'm going to show you something *GASP* imperfect.
This is a manicure I've had in my cache for a VERY long time. I keep looking at it, thinking...I should post that. And then...no, I can't possibly post THAT. I need to re-do it. Perfect it. Make it better. THEN I can post it. But screw it guys! I'm NOT perfect. I know that. I embrace it. I learn from it. I hope that you learn from it too!! I'm not the only blogger who feels this way and I hope that some of you agree with me as well. If you don't, that's fine too! But I hope that we can all at least agree that none of us would like to be bullied. And just remember....in the end...the love you take is the love you make...so make LOTS of it! :)
25 comments
yes yes yes xxx
ReplyDeleteI agree and it's great that you spoke up. Some of us do this for fun not as a profession ;)
ReplyDeletexoxo
gin
Thank you! :)
DeleteI couldn't agree more. Everytime there is drama going on, I start wondering if those people have nothing better to do...
ReplyDeleteI <3 this! You couldn't have worded it anymore perfectly! As long as you love what you're doing it shouldn't matter how "amazing" your skills are.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I completely agree! :)
DeleteAmen sister! I've been reading about that whole drama tonight and it's so ridiculous! It's nail polish! And we're human! Why be mean and catty to each other? If you don't like something you don't have to look at it. Life is hard enough without ripping each other to shreds over something that is supposed to be fun. I held off for quite a while on starting my blog because my nail polish and makeup skills aren't the greatest; but I went ahead with it and I've discovered a great network of amazing and supportive women. At least we now have a list of blogs to ignore (I had actually already removed one of them from the list of blogs I read because I could tell she was in it for the numbers and attention). Bravo for this post!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm so sorry to hear that you hesitated to make a blog. That's exactly why this kind of think makes me so sad. No one should feel that they can't share their passion! I'm glad it worked out for you in the end!
DeleteThat "clean up your cuticles or die" campaign thing is absolutely bogus. And the fact that the girl who runs it is is deleting negative comments is just laughable. If you have the courage to write a blog post for the entire internet to see, I applaud you, whether your manicure is perfect or not.
ReplyDeletehttp://abundanceoferica.blogspot.ca
Well put! Negativity invites negativity.
Deletethanks bee! part of the reason why i've not blogged in so long. for me, it's about the love of polish. :) keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThank you! You should blog more! Your owl post is the CUTEST thing ever!
DeleteBee...well said!! Totally agree with you!
ReplyDeleteI saw that post and felt a little bad that sometimes I post a mani that's not perfect. Sometimes I'm just so excited about it that I have to show it off! I'm a a little lazy when it comes to polishing...I don't want to have to do clean up afterwards, so I try to be as neat as possible. Doesn't always happen.
ReplyDeleteThen I decided that it shouldn't really matter! I'm not blogging for someone else (though I do get a kick out of every comment and like I get!), I'm blogging for me! I love nail polish and I want to share what I love!
So, all of that to say - Well said!! I hadn't though of it as cyberbullying, but that's exactly what the original post is. Thanks for putting it into words so well!
Exactly! You shouldn't have to be anything you aren't or try to be someone else's idea of perfect! You'll never please everyone!
DeleteI just read that blogpost, all I can say is...wow....I am sooo glad you spoke up against this.....my blog is firstly for me, and then for all my friends and followers. I agree with it being cyberbullying :(
ReplyDeleteThank you. :)
DeleteI love this, and I love that mani! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I loved the mani too and I'm glad it finally gets to see the light of day!
DeleteThank you for making a stand! I always find it rather sad that the illusion of perfection is more important to some than the joys of learning & friendship. We all have those days where lil things happen & our nails aren't as well done as we would like. Sometimes we're distracted, sometimes physical issues interfere & sometimes it just is what it is and that has to be good enuf.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I agree with you completely. Our imperfections are what make us beautiful!
DeleteI agree with this post completely. There has been enough drama in the NP community to start discriminating like this because of a simple imperfection in someone's technique.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Thank you! I try to stay out of drama but I guess it can never be completely avoided!
DeleteThank you! Being very new to nail polish, photo taking and having a nail blog I read that and questioned myself. Thank you for this post that has me thinking again, I love polish, I love polishing my nails and that's all that matters!
ReplyDeleteThank you. :) Your nails are lovely!! I hope you keep right on sharing them with the world!
DeleteThank you for visiting and commenting! I read all my comments and love to hear from you! Please DO NOT leave links in the comment box. ALL links which are not relevant to the post are subject to deletion. If you'd like me to check out your blog, please email me at BeePolished@yahoo.com. Thank you again!